Prescriptions for painkillers -- left over from surgeries, orthopedic injuries or dental work -- frequently languish, unfinished, in family medicine chests. Supplies of anti-anxiety medications, including the benzodiazepines known by their commercial names Xanax and Ativan, take up shelf space because they are prescribed for episodic use. And as a growing number of adults are diagnosed with ADHD, their stimulant medication often sits alongside that of their children with attention difficulties.

The Food and Drug Administration is warning physicians that women who suffer migraine headaches and are pregnant or may become pregnant should not use the drugs valproate or valproic acid to prevent the severe headaches, in light of new evidence showing those taking the drugs during pregnancy have children with lower IQ scores than women who do not take them. That warning represents a strengthening of a boxed warning that already appears on these prescription medications, which are used to control epileptic seizures, to treat bipolar disorder, and to prevent and relieve migraine headaches.

Many of us take one or more prescription medications on a regular basis, but we don't always take them as directed by our doctor or pharmacist. Not following directions can be harmful to our health. Here are some tips to make sure you get the most out of your medications. Talk to Your Doctor or Pharmacist * Should the drug be taken with water, with food or on an empty stomach? * How much of the drug should you take each time and how frequently? * What should you do if you miss a dose?

The robbers allegedly broke into a car, took what they wanted and drove away. So they very well might have gotten away with the crime -- had it not been for pesky pocket dialing. Fresno residents Carson Rinehart and Nathan Teklemariam, both 20 years old, were talking about their plan as they prepared to rob a vehicle on May 9, Fresno police officials said. About 11:30 p.m., a 911 dispatcher got a call from a cellphone, and after listening for about a minute, realized that the people on the other end planned to commit a crime, Fresno police Sgt. Jaime Rios said.

If one doctor's prescriptions might be connected to the unnecessary deaths of multiple patients over several years, the state should be asking questions. Times reporters Scott Glover and Lisa Girion analyzed 3,733 prescription drug-related deaths in four Southern California counties, revealing that just 71 doctors - one-tenth of 1% in those counties - had written prescriptions in 17% of such fatalities over six years. One doctor profiled in the stories published Sunday had prescribed medications for 16 patients who subsequently overdosed, according to coroner's reports.

February 15, 2012 | By Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times

The investigation into the death of Whitney Houston is shifting to a new phase, with officials focusing on the prescription drugs found in her hotel room and who prescribed them to her. Investigators are expected in the next few days to serve subpoenas on the doctors, as well as the pharmacies where Houston obtained the prescriptions, as they try to determine her cause of death, according to a source with knowledge of the case. Authorities collected several bottles of drugs from Houston's suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was found dead Saturday.

September 24, 2000 | MARGARET MORRIS, Margaret Morris is a marriage and family therapist who lives in Ventura

The object in my palm was less than three inches of ordinary gray plastic with a tiny cartridge within containing enough measured doses for maybe one month. It did not look like $90. My doctor had told me to increase my use of the medication, a steroid anti-inflammatory, because she thought my asthma could be better controlled with more frequent administration.

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it will investigate whether a new class of Type 2 diabetes drugs sometimes called the "gliptins" may increase patients' risk of developing precancerous changes in the pancreas, as well as of developing acute pancreatitis. The drugs now under closer FDA scrutiny are called incretin mimetics and include such widely prescribed medications as the drug exenitide (marketed as Byetta and Bydureon), liraglutide (Victoza), sitagliptin (Januvia and Janumet or Juvisync)

"A Dose of Herbal Reform" (editorial, April 10) is way off the mark. Yes, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) sponsored the 1994 Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act, but it was the American people who pushed it through--via one of the largest grass-roots responses ever seen on Capitol Hill. Today, given our ailing health care system, the American people want free access to their dietary supplements more than ever. They want, whenever possible, natural alternatives to prescription medications.

Many New Year's resolutions can keep you from needing prescription medications, including the commitments to stop smoking, exercise regularly, limit alcohol and fat intake, and lose weight (if you're overweight). But if you already have, or develop, problems that require prescription drugs, we'd like to suggest an additional resolution for 2002: Take your medication exactly the way it was prescribed. Misuse of medications (often referred to as noncompliance or non-adherence) is widespread.